Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Besides, she's not that attractive.
she's fine
Anonymous wrote:Besides, she's not that attractive.

Anonymous wrote:More training, less Tweeting, Ash.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:How about the men? #2 guy gets booted in favor of #4 and isn’t even made the first alternate. That seems very unfair. I realize he doesn’t have the international career but he had the skate of his life. Shouldn’t skating big at the right time count? I do not follow skating closely but I remember when Tara and Sara Hughes were skating for gold. They killed it. It was so exciting. Ross Miner has a moment like that and he should get to go (or at least be the alternate). Am I wrong?
I don't think so! I feel sort of pissed on Ross Miner's behalf -- and they really rubbed it in his face but not making him an alternate!
As for the fluke, well, who's to say that he won't have another 'fluke' in February, and who's to say that Rippon won't screw up again when it counts?
I’m really torn on this. Ross Miner went to the World’s in 2013 and didn’t crack the top 10- which was a big factor in the Men’s team only having 2 spots for Sochi. He also tends to crumble at his Grand Prix assigments. That said, he had the skate of his life and finally put it together when it really mattered.
However, Adam Rippin has only really started to get consistent in the past 1.5 years. He only made it to the Grand Prix Final because so many of thr top akaters were missing.. He wasted the YEARS of potentially being the leading US man. His Rippon Lutz was breathtaking and started the movement of jumping with both arms over your head. If he hadn’t crumbled under pressure in the past he could have been on world podiums. Now he doesn’t have a chance of being on tbe olympic poduium.
Only Nathan Chen can possibly compete with Yuzaru Hanyu, Shoma Uno, Javi Fernandez, Mikhail Kolyada or Boyanig Jin. Miner and Rippon don’t stand a chance.
I don’t understand why Max Aaron the 4 continents assigment over Grant Hochstein!
I agree, I was torn about it too. I don’t envy the selection committee having to make that decision.
I hope Chen has a great ilympucs! Curious to see where Zhou places as well.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:How about the men? #2 guy gets booted in favor of #4 and isn’t even made the first alternate. That seems very unfair. I realize he doesn’t have the international career but he had the skate of his life. Shouldn’t skating big at the right time count? I do not follow skating closely but I remember when Tara and Sara Hughes were skating for gold. They killed it. It was so exciting. Ross Miner has a moment like that and he should get to go (or at least be the alternate). Am I wrong?
I don't think so! I feel sort of pissed on Ross Miner's behalf -- and they really rubbed it in his face but not making him an alternate!
As for the fluke, well, who's to say that he won't have another 'fluke' in February, and who's to say that Rippon won't screw up again when it counts?
I’m really torn on this. Ross Miner went to the World’s in 2013 and didn’t crack the top 10- which was a big factor in the Men’s team only having 2 spots for Sochi. He also tends to crumble at his Grand Prix assigments. That said, he had the skate of his life and finally put it together when it really mattered.
However, Adam Rippin has only really started to get consistent in the past 1.5 years. He only made it to the Grand Prix Final because so many of thr top akaters were missing.. He wasted the YEARS of potentially being the leading US man. His Rippon Lutz was breathtaking and started the movement of jumping with both arms over your head. If he hadn’t crumbled under pressure in the past he could have been on world podiums. Now he doesn’t have a chance of being on tbe olympic poduium.
Only Nathan Chen can possibly compete with Yuzaru Hanyu, Shoma Uno, Javi Fernandez, Mikhail Kolyada or Boyanig Jin. Miner and Rippon don’t stand a chance.
I don’t understand why Max Aaron the 4 continents assigment over Grant Hochstein!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have a lot of sympathy for these judging-type sports b/c it is all so subjective. Imagine how tough it would be to be gracious after working your whole life and just missing it.
+1
This is exactly the reason why none of my children, and I have 4, participate in ice skating, basketball, baseball, football or any extra activities that involve a coach or panel that will decide who can and can not make the team. This is especially so true at the high school level and lot of politics and favors with parents. The outcome is often rigged.
Two of my kids play tennis and the other two play golf. In those two sports, team members and seeding is solely based on head to head competition via match play. At the end of the day, those that have the most wins make the team. Those that have the least, good luck next season.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:USA Today has a story that USA skating totally rigged it against Wagner. She got lower artistic scores at Nationals, with uS judges, than at an international competition, which the author says never happens. The judges just decided to move onto the skaters with jumps as opposed to artistry.
She lost the chance for them to be invested in her artistry when they didn't have the opportunity to view "La La Land" routine in practice and offer critique, as is standard. She went with an untested program, and very few of her spins were rated Level 4. And her combo jump wasn't there. She two-footed another landing. Weak program, not clean, done.
+1. And her SP was recycled and not as good as in the past. I’m sure she lost some PCS points for that. I know skaters often automatically receive the same PCS points from competition to competition and from year to year, but this is not a given. She had not even competed this version of her free skate until nationals, so she really had no reason to expect the high scores.
To think at one point she was thinking of using TWO recycled programs for the Olympic season! Surely with her endorsements she could have afforded a new SP.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:If one of the three was injured she still got in by default?
That will be the worst. Wagner will be insufferable in that case. I don’t want to hear it!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:USA Today has a story that USA skating totally rigged it against Wagner. She got lower artistic scores at Nationals, with uS judges, than at an international competition, which the author says never happens. The judges just decided to move onto the skaters with jumps as opposed to artistry.
She lost the chance for them to be invested in her artistry when they didn't have the opportunity to view "La La Land" routine in practice and offer critique, as is standard. She went with an untested program, and very few of her spins were rated Level 4. And her combo jump wasn't there. She two-footed another landing. Weak program, not clean, done.
Anonymous wrote:If one of the three was injured she still got in by default?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:How about the men? #2 guy gets booted in favor of #4 and isn’t even made the first alternate. That seems very unfair. I realize he doesn’t have the international career but he had the skate of his life. Shouldn’t skating big at the right time count? I do not follow skating closely but I remember when Tara and Sara Hughes were skating for gold. They killed it. It was so exciting. Ross Miner has a moment like that and he should get to go (or at least be the alternate). Am I wrong?
I was in the building when Miner’s coach, Mark Mitchell, also finished in the top three at Nationals in Orlando, apparently earning a berth on the 1992 Olympic team, only to be booted off the team in favor of a skater with a better international record. Oh, fate. You do mess with certain people!
And Paul Wylie earned silver at that Olympics. The judges called that one right!